DB
It's always a bit difficult to rate a short story anthology as they're different stories with different characters (usually) written by different authors. But essentially, yes, I'll give the anthology an overall 4 stars – because I did like most of the stories a lot. I've only read from two authors here – Tori Bovalino (loved her other book) and Rosiee Thor (dnfed that book so not actually read?). I like anthologies because they introduce you to new authors, which I always like.
I was confused as I thought it would be connected stories. It's said to be in the same house so I guess I thought that meant they'd all be in the same – as in physically – house. That wasn't the case as they were all vastly different – so different that it did feel like 16 different houses instead of supposedly the same house. Apparently there were some links between the stories – like let's say the same mirror from the 2nd story was in the 3rd story? I did not pick up on that at all. I think if it had all been in the actual same house – but just different years, families, alternative universes – I would've really enjoyed this.
As you'll see when reading my separate thoughts – I just wanted more. I know they're short stories, but I would've liked most of the stories to have gone on for longer. I found most of the endings to be abrupt so I would've liked the authors to be able to wrap everything up easily.
Good Morning, Georgia – Courtney Gould. 3⭐ Good start. Reminded me of a good horror movie. Thought it was going another way and then I thought of the movie.
Vanishing Point – Traci Chee. 3.5⭐. Started out really good and then the ending was a bit weird? I did like it for the most part of the story.
Cradle and All – Kay Costales. 4⭐. Sad but written really well.
After Midnight – Liz Hull. 3.5⭐. It was going so well and then the ending just... ended so abruptly.
The Grey Library – Nova Ren Suma. 3⭐. It was very confusing – which is fine, but it was difficult for me to like it.
The Phantom's Waltz – Rosiee Thor 2⭐. This had potential and I could see it but we didn't get it and I'm sad.
Mirror, Mirror – Nora Elghazzawi. 4.5⭐. Spooky and good!
Smartmonster – Sandra Proudman 1⭐. This made no sense and I wasn't a fan of the characters.
Let's Play a Game – Shelly Page. 3.5⭐. Another one of “really cool and then fizzled out”
What Lies in Silence – Justine Pucella Winans 3.5⭐. I liked it and then it got too confusing for me.
me i'm not – g. haron davis. 1.5⭐. Could've been better.
Like Mother – Gina Chen. 5⭐. LOVED this one throughout. Knew early on it would be a 5 star read for me. I need to read more of Chen's books.
In Deep – C. L. McCollum. 2⭐. Listen, they said the house would be the main feature and most of this happened in/around a pond. That may have affected my rating but I felt like this could've been better.
Bloom – Tori Bovalino. 5⭐. After reading My Throat an Open Grave I think I'll give anything Bovalino 5 stars.
The Shoe – Alex Brown. 4.5⭐. Very creepy! Really liked this one.
A Helping Hand – Linsey Miller. 5⭐. Always up for this creepy type of story.
I love it when the next books in the series are even better than the previous ones! I really liked Silver in the Bone, I thought it was a great start to a duology, tons of lore and world-building done really well, and The Mirror of Beasts is even somehow better? I gotta get to Bracken's other books if they'll be like this! I loved everything in here and I could definitely see myself rereading the duology (especially to see if I pick up on any hints or easter eggs).
I loved the characters so so much. They improved from the first book – I had to reread because I remembered like literally... nothing – which was a great idea as it really helped me to get into the characters' heads and understand their motivations. This book only carries that forward and definitely delves deeper into what makes them tick.
I said in my review for the first book that Tamsin and Emrys were my two favourite characters and that didn't change in here! They both went though such a change it was amazing to see them go on that journey and how Bracken never faltered on their development for their journey. I think I said I half or mostly liked Neve in the first book and I ended up liking her more here. I remember I didn't immediately like the sorcerers in the first book but they grew on me and then I really liked them!
As mentioned before, Bracken is amazing with the world building and plot. I was captivated throughout, I didn't want to stop reading, she really made me feel like I was in the book and fighting alongside the characters. That's always something I love to experience while reading a book – also a big compliment from a reader, in my eyes.
I love anything mythology and definitely anything Arthurian related. I need to get more books inspired by this mythology – I know there's a bunch. It's swords, it's fighting, it's magic – literally all right up my alley.
This will definitely be a book that I think of far down the line. It's not an easy book even thought it might seem that from the synopsis. I think I thought it would be and then it very certainly wasn't. I think I knew that it would be a book that has more than what meets the eye – but I don't think I was expecting all of this.
The book certainly went above and beyond my expectations. I enjoyed the ride and was solidly in the book a ton. I really like friendship groups and I think all girls are always interesting (I have an older sister, we both went to the same all-girls school so for the most part most of our friends are girls) – there's so many ways that it can go. I liked this friendship group, I think they worked well together and even though they had their issues (as with any friendship group), they ultimately were there for each other. I really liked that – they chose to stick with each other and be there for each other.
Nell was definitely my favourite character. I liked that we were in her head, she was a good narrator and took us along the journey, allowing us to discover things through her. Which I like! Sometimes I prefer to figure out the mystery before the characters and other times I like when the characters and I are in the dark together. I didn't like Dia and Harper at the start – there were things that they did or things that happened and I wasn't exactly there for it. Luckily they improved and I ended up liking them.
I did want more of Harry but also I understood why they didn't focus on him more. But I like how they tied him in at the end. I was annoyed that Harper (his sister) got annoyed at him often and I kept saying “Harper, he's being a good brother!” I think I'm getting old but also like... trust your siblings, I feel? Especially if they're good like Harry.
I liked Tris from when we met her. I think it was a good idea to add her – both as a character and a love interest. I had hoped she would be a good addition and not just simply there (to add another character, I mean), so I was glad to see that wasn't the case. Gavin and Christopher however, I could and would throw both into the lake and not think twice of them. I instantly knew I'd dislike them and then it became even clearer (basically by their first scene). What boys/men think they can get away with just because they want to... will never cease to make me angry.
The plot and pacing go hand-in-hand together. It's a slow pace and it very much could've not been handled well but it did. That's credit to the author because sometimes a medium or even fast paced book can feel slow. I know with another book I'd easily be less interested or even dnf because the pacing is so slow and the plot is taking forever to show (and it's not even that long) but here it works. That's all due to the characters. They're well-written, fleshed out. Their differences work well both against each other and together when they need to. Could the author have introduced the witches earlier? Yes, but I'm actually glad that she didn't! It allowed me to get to know their personalities, how they interacted with each other.
I thought I really enjoyed The Third Daughter and then this book sort of blew that out of the water. Absolutely stunning, amazing sequel and conclusion to a series. I like it when the last book feels like the last book; where plots are all neatly tied up and the endings all make sense. But still there's that sense where you could very well spend 3 more books in this universe. That was me with this series – fantastic ending but I wouldn't mind spending more time here.
That's definitely due to the characters. Tooley fully shines in her characters – dialogue, development, just how they live in the world. It was even better than the previous book. Especially with the two main female characters – Sabine and Elodie – how they interacted with everyone around them, whether friends or enemies. How they interacted with each other – so sweet and special, I loved every second. And even with themselves as they try to navigate their new roles and their purposes in life.
I really liked Sabine and Elodie in the first book and I liked them even more in this one. Reading the first book's review I said I liked Sabine's chapters more, and here I liked Elodie's chapters more – so that was interesting. Both of them had changed so much with all they've been through and they continue to go through so much more this time around. To me their personalities were better in the sequel – maybe because Tooley spent more time with them or they're put through rougher circumstances in here.
Either way, it just works so well and I was here for it all the way. I want to dive into Grace's other books because of how well she writes these characters. I can only hope that the characters in her other books are as well-written as in here. The side characters in here are so well-written too that they don't feel like they're actually side characters. They're fully fleshed out, you see their emotions clear on their faces and dialogue. You know their personalities even though they're only seen in a few scenes. That's what I love to see in a book.
The plot rolls over from the previous book but it also brings up new plot points and Grace balanced them all very well. I really like a good balance of typing up the old plot points from the previous book and dealing with new ones. To me that's the mark of a good author as it shows not only that they're able to juggle it all but they do it well enough so that you, the reader, understands it all.
I don't so much mind modern words and phrases in fantasy worlds but to me if I see them I'm more likely to think a character will soon use a phone or use magic with technology. Writers don't have to use long or old words to create believable fantasy worlds. I was enjoying how Page had crafted her world and characters and I think using the modern words actually took away from that. I think if she had not used those modern words I would've enjoyed reading the book more.
I liked the characters but I kept feeling they could've been more throughout the book. I was promised banter, and only got a bit. I was promised enemies-to-lovers, and it didn't give me that the way I've read it in other books. I could tell that the potential was there but as readers we didn't get it. I think I might've loved Erik, had he been written better. Isabel was the main issue for me, I think. She wasn't working the way I had hoped she would (as a main character).
I liked the plot and definitely wanted to see it through. It wasn't that it was wholly original but was written in a new way, which is nice to see. It wasn't all neatly tied up and could've been better – but it's also Page's debut so I'm not so fussed about that. I could also see the potential and I think I might keep an eye on Page's future books to possibly see what else she has up her sleeve. I did really enjoy the side characters. I think she shone there (if not with the main characters). They had a ton of banter and improved throughout the book. I sort of liked them better than the main characters but maybe that'll change if I read the sequel.
Another factor of the book I liked was the magic system. I would've liked to have learnt more or see if there's any subsections of the magic shown in this book. Maybe that'll be a bigger plot point in the sequel, who knows. I think the world-building was set up well enough but like most of the other aspects of the book – just not enough for me to like it more.
I thought that the idea of Pride and Prejudice but Lizzie and Mary being witches would be such a fun idea! Unfortunately I soon realised that you could literally take that away from them and... it would be the original story all over again. I did like it but it didn't really add anything past that little change. I don't mind when retellings change a bunch of the original story and I felt like Lackey could've really gone for it and played around. Added more witches, let them meet all those witches, just something different!
Another reason I would've like the witch addition to be more is because it was incredibly of a side plot. They come to their family's house with the intention of learning how to heal their witch mentor and it takes weeks before they even start to learn anything. It frustrated me because it kept showing that the witch addition could've easily been taken out and not changed anything. What's the point of reading a retelling if it's basically just the original?
Other than that, I mean the romance is standard, it's Darcy and Lizzie, and I love to see it. I think they've basically made enemies-to-lovers. Darcy being all “oh I love Lizzie, how do I tell her that and propose to her? Oh I know!” Darcy to Lizzie: “Hey, you suck, your family sucks, please marry me?” That's just classic stuff, if you ask me. Not entirely as good as knife to the throat trope, but still really good. I did like the change from Lydia as the youngest daughter to Claudius and him still having the relationship with Wickman. Mary's not interested in romance and prefers to work more on her magic skills and it was great to see how barely anyone bat an eyelash.
I take most adult mystery thrillers with grains of salt. Young Adult (mystery thriller) I'm more fine with. But I'm trying to shop around and see exactly what I'll like and dislike from Adult books. Unfortunately while this looked really good and I was interested at the start it petered out quite fast. I didn't like the deaths, I really didn't like the ending. I could see how it could've been better but unfortunately it didn't go that way.
I liked locked room mysteries, I like it when people are getting picked off one-by-one and anyone could be the killer. This had all three but just threw it all away for an nonsensical ending. And the characters seemed to be interesting all for the first few chapters. Every time I thought I liked one of the characters they did something or said something and we were back to the beginning. The book might've been more interesting and likeable if Davey, the one character, just wasn't there. He was totally my least favourite and thought himself to be the bee's knees. I don't think I even had a favourite, or, the character I disliked the least.
In most Adult mystery/thriller books it's the characters I don't like. Their personalities, how they treat the characters around them and their dialogue. I like unlikeable characters but only if they're written well. They were well-written in here but because I didn't like their personalities at all, it was hard to like their unlikeable personalities. I don't know if that makes much sense.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on any future horror books that she narrates – I really hope there'll be more. I see I've some of her books on my tbr but I think this is the only horror book she's done. There are quite a lot of characters in here and the narrator does a fine job of differentiating them so it was rare that I got them mixed up. Which doesn't happen often with a single narrator – unfortunately, try as they might, a lot of their voices tend to sound the same.
The story dragged a bit in the beginning but it picked up after a while and then I didn't want to stop reading. Which I like in a horror book. I think it's better to read a horror book quickly or read a bunch in one sitting. It helped that the story was also really interesting and mysterious so I wanted to read more quickly to fully figure the story.
Temple was an interesting character because it's almost as if she doesn't want the readers to like or root for her. She'll show all the darker parts of herself, show you why you shouldn't be friends with her but every now and then she'll say or do something and I'll want to like her. So, yes, she is an unlikable character. She pushes everyone away, she doesn't want to share herself with others (though with her family who can blame her, I guess). But then she did. She opened up to others, she made connections, chose to trust others – which is a huge feat for anyone, let alone herself.
The premise is what initially drew me in. Camp setting in the horror genre? It's classic for a reason. And all of the members are LGBTQ+ Black teen girls obssessed with horror? That's all I needed to know. What I got was just so much more. I'd actually thought it was just horror, I didn't even know that there was a fantasy/paranormal element to it until it actually happened. Which made me be even more interested because I really like paranormal horrors.
But this was also just more than a simple paranormal horror. It's about secrets, family and how they can help and harm you. About keeping your self to yourself until you decide to show yourself, trusting others to understand you. I liked that with Temple it was with new people and not any friends (well she didn't have any). Through literally every terrible thing that happened in here to her, she still decided to open up. She decided to get close to people and make friends.
Katon-Donegal did a fine job when it came to the plot and all the plot twists. It was another reason why I couldn't put it down. The intrigue kept me going, had me saying ‘one more chapter' because I had to know what was lay next in store for the characters. If you're a reader who loves a plot that takes you places you won't believe your eyes or ears are seeing.
Can't believe I've finished the series! There's so much that goes on in every book and tons to enjoy. I'll try not to spoil but as this is the fourth book in the series, bit difficult not to. A lot of the overall plot points come together and are finalised and we also have some new ones being introduced. Boleyn shines in balancing the new and old plot points well, I wasn't confused with any of them. She's also quite strong in forging relationships and the characters that come with them. They're well-written, likeable, I want to root for them to achieve their goals. The villains, too, are quite well-written and complex. I like having a good villain (not like good deeds/hearted good, you know what I mean).
Morgan and Draven have been though a lot and they still continue to go through a lot! Can't they catch a break? Let them just relax, watch a play together, just sleep for most of the day rather than having to put our fires and swing swords constantly. But, even though they were hounded by literally everything and everyone against them they still managed to have their happy and sweet moments! I've loved them together from the first book (Enemies-to-lovers, need I say more?) I love that they rely on each other so easily. They're connected to each other, know the others' strengths and weaknesses. Able to step in and help wherever needs be.
Plus, I'm always up for a man who loves a strong woman. Draven's been like that from the first book – oh, Morgan's holding a sword? Draven's basically got heart eyes. He's more of an ‘alpha male' type character (and mostly those don't want their female love interests to be equal in strength, or even stronger) and he isn't upset. Which made me like him more.
There's a lot in this book, just like the rest of the series so while I want to recommend it to a lot of people; it definitely can get confusing quite often. But there are readers (me, most of the time) who like confusing books so it works!
This was fun! I love Stranger Things and I grew up on the TMNT cartoons (Raphael is my favourite with Michelangelo being a close second) so I wanted to read this. It's fun and an easy plot that you can follow. I think it's best if you know (at least) the basics of both fandoms (for Stranger Things it's before Season 3).
The casual personalities of the Turtles pair well with the unique personalities of the Hawkins gang. When I first saw this I knew that I had to read it. It tied up everything quite nicely, no loose ends. The graphics were so good. I really like it when the graphic novel feel so real because it's drawn so well.
I'll have to read another Hallett book to see if Alperton Angels was a once-off because I really enjoyed this book. Her new book, The Examiner, looks the most interesting but I will pick up The Twyford Code to see what's going on. I read this in 2 days and had fun all the way through – compared to the slog and bore that was Angels (yes, I should've dnfed lol).
I think what changed this time around is that the law students (I kept thinking they were detectives, probably because they were in contact with a PC (Police Constable)) were very in the background. They'd pop up here and there with a few messages and then were only really in the forefront near the end. Compared to Angels when the authors were constantly messaging each other and we were ‘treated' to their ‘personality'.
The characters (the ones involved in the crime) were also way more interesting than the first Hallett book I read. They live in a small town, so yes, they are quite involved in each others' lives and are more nosy than I'd like people I'd see every week for community theatre. Isabel was just my absolute favourite. I screenshotted nearly every email that Isabel sent to show my friend and my girl? was so unhinged you just have to love her. Something I said to my friend and I'll say it here is: Nothing says delulu like Isalulu. She was out here planning a WHOLE TRIP to Africa with her so-called ‘bestie', Samantha, who's new to the theatre group (Samantha and her husband used to work for Doctors Without Borders in Africa – everyone just says ‘Africa', they worked in 3 different countries). Then to other people she's saying that the trip is Sam's idea. She's also just... constantly trying to make Sam her bestie and I was just Regina George in Mean Girls – “stop trying to make fetch happen!”
I thought it was an interesting idea to make Sam and her husband never really interact with any of the others. They don't send emails or text messages so you don't get to know their personalities like the others. At the same time they didn't... really have much of a personality – so that was also annoying because I didn't feel like I knew them; ; I was just knew them from others' interactions and feelings of them. And you can't trust anything Isabel say so lol.
The actual murder happens quite late in, which I'm not a fan of. I was raised on procedural crime shows where the murder happens before the intro. It's a good reason (in my opinion) to dnf – but in here that didn't bother me too much because I did want to solve the murder. I won't talk much about the murder and the perpetrator but I didn't like who it turned out to be. I understood the motives, but it didn't fit the character so much?
Cute and quick read that took me a day to finish! Okay, not so cute's the wrong word to use when there's a body found haha. But it was nice to go back to the Theatre group and see the changes – in the characters, in the dynamics between them. Those dynamics were interesting to see and more visible here than in the first book. There's hierarchies and people trying to curry favours with the family ‘at top'. There was one character who would berate Character C with Character A and then in an email to character C, berate Character A. A and C didn't like each other and are vying to be the new ‘it family' and Character B changes her personality to fit in with both of them. All for... a bigger role in the next play.
I think Hallett really shone with these characters so I'm really hoping that her other books have characters like this again. It was a nice change from how they treated me in her first book (that I read). They changed a bit in this book – the dynamics, how they treated each other – but they still maintained most of their personalities, which I liked.
The law students were in here again and the police officer is now retired and he annoyed me. He strung them around, the end was confusing, he wasn't helping. Not to be that person but I don't like to be too confused by my books! I did like the crime in this and I think that the person who was involved, I'm absolving them of any accusations that they might have against them. To me they're totally innocent.
This was such a cute read and I really need to finish watching all the Fast and Furious movies (so I can then rewatch them). If you're not a fan there are a lot of references and talk of the movies and characters, so, sorry if you're one of those who dislike constant pop culture references. I don't, I really like them and I don't think they spoil or date the book (I love the older references, especially with technology).
I was drawn to the book because a) Jamie Pacton and b) Fast and Furious. And I'm glad to say it delivered! I haven't read anything from Podos and I've only read Pacton's fantasies – but I'm pretty sure I could see Pacton in the characters. JoJo and El were so cute – alone and with each other. I thought it was cute that they would both go on tangents about bikes and cars respectively and you could feel the other girl is like “Yeah, I have no idea what you mean but you're cute!”.
I appreciated JoJo's grief storyline. Her mom had passed away recently and grief is such a difficult thing to work through. I liked that it wasn't so well-managed here but there's hope that it would and sometimes, that's all that's needed. El doesn't have grief per se, but she's working through her sister's disappearance, which is sort of grief because it's about losing a loved one (albeit not actually).
It's a very fast-paced book, which is always nice. You could easily read this in one sitting or throughout a day. The plot is fairly simple and because it's so fast-paced the plot flies through too. I now and then wanted the plot to be more – more twists, characters having to choose a different path – but this is contemporary, not fantasy! Contemporary's allowed to be straight-forward and plain. Just like a sprint in a race (all my knowledge is from Need for Speed games haha). The characters did occasionally make stupid decisions or say things without thinking but they're teenagers!! Let teens do these things!! I think of this often when people complain about teen characters being annoying – like teens... are annoying. And they should be allowed to be annoying!
So good things – they changed the narrator for this (to Natalie Naudus). Ferrick and Vataea thankfully had different (better) accents. Did that mean I enjoyed this more? No, unfortunately, not. I think it's because I had struggled with the first book that I just wanted to get this one done.
As the book went on I liked Amora less and less
I... wanted to like this one so badly but I unfortunately didn't enjoy most of it. I could've even dnfed and not really thought twice about it. A lot was smushed into this one book and it's not getting a sequel. I don't know if the author was told and decided to push everything in because she wasn't getting a sequel or if she pushed everything in thinking that she'd get to clear things up in the sequel.
Either way, it didn't work for me. I had the audio and I disliked the narrator, which definitely added to my ‘reasons'. Some voices were fine but for most of them I wasn't much of a fan. Venus's voice (the main character) was mostly okay but I really didn't like Janus – her voice and her character. Janus's (and maybe Venus? I don't remember) voice was a bit scratchy and it made it difficult to hear when she (the narrator) shouted in dialogue because it was all high-pitched.
I think if Venus were either an only child or just had a different sibling I might have liked her better but because she was so much with her sister, it was difficult. I sort of liked her but not really enough to have me fully invested in the story. I kept waiting for Janus to become more likeable, to do something where I could cheer for her but it never came. In fact I didn't like most of the side characters. I didn't remember much of the uncle or the cousin but I also didn't remember much of them. I liked Presley the best of the side characters (actually of all the characters). They were the best written and I wasn't too bothered by the voice.
The plot was decent enough but because it was so jam-packed it was difficult to keep everything straight. I think only at the end I was starting to put two and two together. And because I wasn't so interested it was hard to actually want to put the pieces together.
Ghost Squad was a cute and short middle grade but nothing really past that. It held its own in terms of characters and plot but I don't think it'll be a book I remember much of. The book shined in the characters and their relationships with each other, which was nice to see. I liked that Lucely (our main character) and Syd were such close friends and how Syd stuck by Lucely.
It's not that I didn't like the plot, it was easy enough for a middle grade but that was about it. Nothing really further to it. I've read other middle grade books with better plots so I know it can be better. But I think this book will be the perfect match for another reader.
I'll be down for reading more gothic books if they're like this. I liked Temperance, thankfully, almost from the get-go. When you have a small cast (or rather the focus is mostly on a group of people) and the story is in a first person POV; it's important (at least for me) to connect easily and early on with the main character/s. Family is a big part of Temperance's life, her personality. Why she does what she does.
There's also Temperance's job, which is taking over as the town's Lamplighter after her father passed away. The job has to be done as there are dangers in the fog. For the first bit I did want the dangers to be revealed or at least for us to understand what's really in there. But as we carried on I preferred that we were in the dark much like the town and Temperance through most of the book. That way we learned through her and shared her experiences. It's also characteristic of a gothic novel, I believe. Even though I'm not so clued up on the genre, I know some things. Like when there's monsters, you won't typically see them, if at all, for most of the story. It's about how the creatures makes the characters feel, what roles they play in the story, even what themes and morals the characters possess because of the antagonists.
Temperance isn't necessarily a quiet character but she's in a time and community where women are meant to be seen, not heard, perfect wives or planning to be perfect wives. She was out there with a job and giving opinions, trying to have her say – which of course, no one wanted to listen to her. Which means she had to go it alone and discover what was happening herself. I liked the subplot of her sister potentially marrying someone in the town but he's not a good person though Temperance is the only one to see that. It added some more mystery to the book and also added to her personality as you can see she cares a lot for her sister.
I really liked the creatures and everything surrounding them. I could've done with a lot more focus on them than anything else. Of course I understand why they were pushed into the background but a bigger focus on them would've been great.
Just like the previous book, we're not given a time jump, which I was happy about. It was, however, slower-paced than the previous book and I did think some times the chapters could've been condensed. I still liked it. which I'm happy about. I want to keep reading this series and from the author. There were a couple of plot twists and turns throughout the book, I didn't catch all of them before they revealed themselves.
This book is very much a study on Morgan and her power, Fae and otherwise. I liked that it showed that even if you're not wielding magic, you can definitely still be powerful. The events in this book definitely tested her strength and will and I'm glad to say she came out strong as I knew she would. Although her and Draven are physically separated for most of the book, you could see they loved each other and I liked how Draven kept saying “I'll find her anywhere” and lines like that.
This has patches of action here and there but it is largely more of a quieter book and focuses on politics more than the previous books did (though Court of Claws did have a good amount of politics in). I don't mind fantasy politics, so I liked that.
I have (thankfully) pushed most of this book out of my mind but here I am, reminding myself, so I hope you appreciate it. I've read mixed media books before – like Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall – but this is the first book (that I've read) with no normal narration/dialogue. The story is told solely through Whatsapp messages, emails, and text messages. It's like a musical where they sing all the lines – even the dialogue to each other is lightly singing. Either you like it or you don't. With this one I didn't but that was more the characters.
The book follows two true crime authors, Amanda and Oliver, as they try to work together and against each other to solve the titular case. I was immediately drawn to the book because it mentioned a cult and I love cults (they fascinate me). Both of them annoyed me so much. It's fine that they were rude to each other (though I didn't really get why), I just had no interest in it. It's true that it would be difficult to create/learn their personalities through this type of medium; but it's not impossible. It just wasn't the case here. They had no personality (in my opinion) and I didn't care about anything they did or said.
I then hoped that if I didn't like the authors, I might like the case – it is mysterious, cults, possibly paranormal? It wasn't so mysterious as just utterly confusing. I don't mind mysteries where you have to think but I also want to enjoy them. I couldn't make heads or tails of this and I could definitely tell that I didn't want to try to understand and possibly solve it.
The cult members also didn't seem like they had any personalities; which is sad because cult leaders are basically always charismatic and charming – that's how they lure people in. This cult leader wasn't at all charming. I was so annoyed that there wasn't a paranormal twist to it. It would've improved the book, if only a bit. Perhaps explained why they were drawn to the cult leader even if he had no personality.
Normally I'm not a fan of constant pov changes – and when they're in the same chapter – but I didn't find that so annoying here? Plus they're all first person pov and didn't annoy me – which was another win as I often find them annoying. Big kudos to the two authors for managing to pull that off!
Of course when you have an ensemble group it could become difficult to differentiate between their voices and personalities but that didn't seem to be the issues here. All the povs were in first person yet I never really got confused as to whose pov I was reading.
I already knew The Ghost Gang from the previous book but I liked how they took the events from it and made sure it affected them in this book. That they wouldn't forget them (hard to, considering what they'd been through) and it's a good reminder that trauma shows itself in many ways and it's a difficult thing to navigate.
The characters improved in this book and I liked seeing that. Looking back at my review for the first book I said Chrissy was my favourite and Chase, my least. I liked Chase much better this turn around! I said in Horror Hotel that he felt like cared more about the fame and the group. And that I hoped that he would change that in the future. That definitely was the case here! He not only improved as a character (in my eyes); he cared more about the group than their fame (current and any they could get in the future). I liked him more for that. I think for this book Emma and Kiki also improved as characters for me. Actually for this book none of them stood out as a clear favourite? As I liked all of them really well.
I didn't really like Billie, Kiki's mom. Honestly, I didn't really understand why she was on the ship with them. I warmed up to her late into the book but I could've done without her.
I didn't like the whole subplot of the mummy. I thought it was just pushed in there when maybe the editors thought there wasn't enough tension and another subplot needed to be added. We could've had another book with the cursed mummy plot instead of just shoving it into here and not giving it enough space to fully spread its wings.
I liked the other bits of the plots. A ghost haunting of the ship and “oh there's a lady in white wandering the ship” – I loved that. I love haunting stories and they don't get old to me – that is basically what Horror Hotel was too. The Ghost Gang made sure to be respectful to the story, which was good, and solving it was important not only for their Youtube channel.
Even though I didn't like the Paranormal Patrol (also the name is stupid), I did like what they brought to the table. The difference between the two groups, what they both wanted from solving the mystery. How they treated the mystery – respect versus fame. Also how the internet/Hollywood wanted to see them. Like the Ghost Gang are teenagers, why would you push them to sex it up? They're not on Riverdale or Euphoria (most certainly as those teens are played by near 30 year olds).